Thursday, August 14, 2008

What a week.

So this has been quite the week. Sunday night I went to the new night worship service led by friends at their church in LeRoy. I don't know the name of the church, just that they call it the golf ball, because that's what the building looks like. It's a large faceted white dome that looks like a golf ball half sunken into the ground. After the service we went to the Barringer's house; always a good thing, I love them and could use the positive company. I ended up having a long tearful conversation about certain recent events with Chrissy. It was a good conversation, and my time with the rest of the family was lovely also.

A large precursor to this week, and something that has been on my mind quite a lot, that I haven't shared with you, internet, is that Brian and I broke up three and a half weeks ago. I'm sure you understand why I wouldn't post this right away, as it is something that has been difficult to deal with. I am, obviously, still dealing with it, but it has become common knowledge and I've stopped crying every time I think about it, so it's time you know dear internet. It was a peaceful breakup, no hard feelings or fights or anything, but still very hard.

Monday morning at eight o'clock I received a call from Brian to tell me that his grandfather had passed away earlier that morning. It is a terrible loss, he was a wonderful man and will be missed. I held him in very high esteem, and it has been hard to see him lose the short and intense fight he had with the cancer in his throat. Prayers for Brian and his family are greatly appreciated, and this loss has left a huge hole. Rest in Peace, John "Dee" Deschamps.

***

I went home Monday, much later than I meant to due to several things. The purpose of my going home was that my car has been acting weird and I had a dentist appointment. The dentist appointment went fine. My car, however, needed some major engine tuning up. Everything was fine though, and fixable, which is good. However, there is a sequel to that story.

First, a picture of George. This is his "WTF is that thing, and why is it clicking at me?!" face.

Tuesday night I made dinner. A few weeks ago I was hanging out with my friend James and we went to a place in Brockport called Zonie's for dinner, which is a place that serves calzones. Only calzones, with almost any filling you could think of. Since we went there, I've been craving calzone. I however, also wanted pizza. So I created a pizza-calzone. Basically I made two rounds of dough, topped the first with pesto and cheese, moistened the edges, and put the second round on top. After crimping the edges together (as you would with a pie), I topped it with more pesto, artichoke hearts, chopped roasted red pepper, mushrooms, and cheese. It was pretty much awesome. Also, the dough recipe was pretty much the best I've ever made. It was super simple too (however glutenous, though I'd like to try it with alternate flours):

Assemble pizza as desired, bake at 425*F for 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness, until firm and golden at edges.

Then yesterday I went and hung out with Steve and we made a similar creation, only with all white flour, no red pepper (because I forgot to buy one), and ricotta added into the center and top. Also delicious.

My day yesterday was quite eventful. I was planning to leave by eleven to be to Rochester by one. I actually left on time. However, not two miles from my house my car began to do that sputtering thing that was the whole reason for the tune up in the first place. "Oh dear," said I. I pulled off the road and called my mom who suggested taking it back to Dave. I did, and he said it sounded like there was still some water in my tank, so he gave me some super extra dry gas and said that it should be fine after I filled up with gas. He and I took it for a drive, and it was fine, so after dropping him back off at the garage, I went on my way. It stuttered a few times, but seemed fine. And it was, mostly, until I went through the toll booths to go into Buffalo. If you have never been to Buffalo, the thruway is a four lane highway where no one cares about anything except how much they can break the speed limit.

After my ezpass registered, I eased on the gas to accelerate- and nothing happened. "Oh no." Thought I.

Then my engine caught and the RPMs rocketed, but there was no shifting and I was still going a nice slow 20 mph or so. I got over to the middle lane and nestled myself behind an also slow-going semi and tried to control my panic. My car very slowly inched up, but around 40 started sputtering and hiccuping, and I tried to remain calm. For a short period of time things seemed to go back to normal, but soon it was sputtering again. I decided it was probably a good idea to exit the highway and the next exit was the exit for the Walden Galleria Mall. This exit is a two lane curved ramp with a stop light at the end. The light was red. I thought to myself, if I stop will I start again? And, sure enough, not twenty seconds after I came to a stop my car gave out a violent shutter and completely died.

This did not ease my sense of panic.

I got it to start again and began to beg the light to turn green. It did (though took its time) and I shutteringly got off the ramp and into a parking lot. I then called my mom and triple A and was subsequently towed back home to Dave's. The problem was quite a simple one, though effective. When he revamped my engine, he replaced a bunch of parts. The place where he gets his parts from carried two grades of parts- the good kind that he gets, and the off brand. The one part that he needed was out of stock in his preferred brand, so knowing that I needed to get back to Rochester, he got the off brand. He has solidified why he doesn't use those products. This part that he had to get was the spark plug mechanism. The way that it is is there is a little box with wires that have to go down into the engine and are secured in place by little rubber plugs that fit into the holes and are held there and then secured when the engine is turned on by suction. Apparently the suction didn't work correctly and while I was driving two of the plugs worked their way out and popped up out of the holes causing my engine to cease functioning. He called the guy and had the part ordered so that he would have it this morning. I, however, needed to get to work and so borrowed my parents' Vibe and drove back directly. My father is coming tomorrow and I'm meeting him halfway so that we can switch back.

***

One of the benefits to having the Vibe is that my bicycle fits in the back, so I was able to take it to the city to the place where Steve gets his parts and I'm getting it tuned up. I'm pretty excited and get to go pick it up tomorrow. They are replacing a bunch of the parts and it's going to be awesome (and probably safer). The name of the place is Full Moon Vista and it's at 180 St. Paul Street in Rochester. I was super impressed with the guy that helped me- he was really knowledgeable and has been in the bicycle business for a long time. Also, the price is really reasonable for the high quality stuff and service they provide.

***

One last amusing thing before I retire to bed- When I left my room briefly earlier, the house cat here, Clover, snuck into my room seeing the open door. I didn't notice her when I came back in, and went about my business for a little while before being startled by the eyes staring up at me from my bed when I turned. After she knew that I had noticed her, the ritual "love me I'm awesome" dance commenced, pictures of which can be seen on my flickr.